National Orientation Agency (NOA) has organized a town hall meeting to awaken consciousness of Jigawa state indigenes on how to promote transparency and accountability in governance by using the provisions of Freedom of Information (FoI) Act and Open Government Partnership (OGP) .
The state Director of NOA, Shuaibu Haruna said the meeting was also geared toward promoting citizens engagement for good governance and transparency in government business in Dutse.
He said FoI act did not only made it possible for the public to access information but also protect public information considered consistent with public interest.
Haruna added that OGP was an international multi-stakeholder global coalition of reformers from government and civil society which aided in making government transparent and accountable saying, the partnership was designed with a view to foster rapid development and inclusive growth.
“The town hall meeting is aimed at promoting citizens engagement for good governance, facilitating a culture of openness and transparency in government business, creating awareness and understanding of the provisions of the FoI Act 2011 and educating the general public about their rights and responsibility.
“OGP was launched to provide an international platform for domestic reformers to make their government open, accountable and responsive to citizen’s participation, technology and innovation.
“The OGP national action plan has 14 commitments by the thematic areas and leads MDAs. The commitment include Fiscal Transparency (1-5), Anti-corruption (6-9), Access to information (10-11) and Citizens Engagement and Empowerment (12-14).”